


I'll Wait For You

by MarcosFreckl



Series: Start of Something Good [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Marco's POV, modern!AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-20
Updated: 2014-06-20
Packaged: 2018-02-05 12:48:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1819072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarcosFreckl/pseuds/MarcosFreckl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jean is a locally famous hockey player, usually with a cocky grin plastered on his face. Marco is a shy kid who has an internship at their local library and spends his free time singing for a small band he and his cousin put together. When Jean runs into Marco at the ice rink, courtesy of Ymir and Historia, Marco’s world is turned upside down and he’s dragged into a love that he never imagined to be possible.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'll Wait For You

There are two things you need to know about working in the Trost Public Library:

1\. Don’t ever, ever, ever miscatorgorize the Civil War non-fiction novels.

2\. No matter how empty the library seems to be, you’re not permitted to start dancing in the fiction section, no matter how amazing the music may be.

Maybe I should start from the beginning first. My name is Marco Bodt, and this all started when I made the biggest mistake of my life. During a peaceful autumn afternoon, when I decided to assume the library was almost entirely empty. Of course, because the library was empty no one would really mind a lanky seventeen year old parading around the fiction section, dancing to his own personal music taste. It’s not like I could have known that someone was just going to come in during my dance solo.

I had just taken a quick check around the perimeter, finding no one. So I went behind the counter and grabbed my phone, turning on “Blah, Blah, Blah” by Kesha. I grabbed the barcode scanner from the cart I was using to put the books back on the shelves using it as a temporary microphone. “I’m in love with this song, so just hush baby, shut up, heard enough!” I grabbed a few books off the cart, shoving them carelessly into the shelves, too engrossed in my solo to notice the boy staring at me wide-eyed from only a few feet away. I flung my arm out, pointing the scanner in his direction “Just turn around boy, let me hit that!” I shouted, opening my eyes and my singing becoming nothing but a strangled cry as I dropped the scanner to the ground. “Oh my god!”

The boy’s eyes only grew wider, face growing red as he tried to hold back a laugh. “Nice moves you got there, freckles.” He said, a cocky grin plastered on his face. “W-what are you talking about? I wasn’t dancing! I was, uh, stretching!”

“While singing?”

“No!”

As I felt my face grow hot with embarrassment, I took a minute to study the guy in front of me. He had blondish hair with an undercut, narrow amber eyes and clean-cut features. He looked familiar to me, but I had no time to dwell on it. “If you say so, freckles.”

“Stop calling me freckles.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t even know you.”

“Okay. My name’s Jean. You are?”

“...I’m going.”

I quickly finished shoving the books in their place and hurried away, Jean shouting after me. “Hey, I was only kidding!” This day couldn’t possibly get any worse.

I was just about sure my face was so flushed it was clouding the freckles that splattered around my nose. Earlier this morning, my cousin Ymir and her girlfriend had practically begged me to go to the ice skating rink with them. I hated ice skating, I was horrible and I couldn’t even walk in my skates. Though, I can’t say no to my cousin, even if I wanted too (which I did).  As soon as I got home, I had all of that to look forward to. Now, I had just gotten caught dancing to a Ke$ha song.

Really, this was wrapping itself up to be one of the worst days I’ve had in a long time. Maybe if I’m lucky this will all just turn out to be one giant, horrible dream. Or in the very least I can hope for is that maybe a month or two away from now I’ll look back on this day and won’t remember anything. I pushed my way into the store room, pretending to dust off books and collect them off of shelves as I heard the other boy sigh.

Play it off, Marco. I managed to tell myself awkwardly. Just wait it out until he leaves and you’ll never have to see him again. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case as I’ll later realize.

“Marcoooo!”

I sighed, putting the other books down and turning around until I faced my cousin, Ymir. Jean had already left, so that was a bright side I was willing to look at. “You’re still coming to the ice skating rink with us, right?” She asked, poking my forehead forcefully.

I stumbled backwards a little bit, almost colliding with a shelf. “Yeah yeah. I don’t really have I choice anyway.” I replied with a small roll of my eyes.

“Damn right you don’t have a choice.” Ymir stated simply, turning on her heels and beginning to exit the library.

“...Oh, and nice singing, Bodt.”

I felt my face flush a deep crimson and my heart sink with despair once more. Oh, so Jean wasn’t the only one who had heard my singing.

\-----

I pulled on the thickest jacket I could find, which happened to be a dark blue and black jacket that my mom had gotten me a few years ago. It still fit for the most part. It was just a little snug around my arms.

I had planned to meet Ymir and Historia there, which ensued a lot of awkward waiting in the parking lot. The worst part was that it was so hot, and I was stuck inside this thick jacket, shifting uncomfortably on the concrete and waiting for my cousin to show up. Ymir’s girlfriend, Historia, was probably the nicest person I knew. I couldn’t say no to her, she’s really close with Ymir and I’m sure she wants to get close with me too. I’m Ymir’s only family, it make sense that she’d want to get to know me better.

I had calmed down from this afternoon, which was good. Usually when I do  something embarrassing like that it haunts me for years. I still can’t believe that it happened. Out of all the days in the year today happened to be the day someone decides to show interest in our library while I’m dancing around like an idiot. Definitely learned my lesson. Only dance and sing when it’s past closing time. The only thing I can hope for now is that Jean doesn’t tell anyone what he saw.

Ymir finally decided to show up, hugging a petite blonde haired girl to her side. “Ymir! What took you so long?” I whined, staring at the duo.

“None of your business, Bodt. Anyway, this is Historia.”

I blinked, turning until I fully faced Ymir’s companion. She held out a hand and I shook it, surprised out how such a polite young girl would date someone like Ymir. “Hi, I’m Historia. Ymir’s told me a lot about you.” She said quietly, glancing at my freckled cousin.

“Hi Historia! I’m Marco.” I replied with a large grin, even though I knew Ymir had probably already told Historia my name. “Alright guys, let’s go inside already.” Ymir scowled at us, grabbing Historia’s hand and yanking her inside. “Hurry up, Bodt! The ice skating rink isn’t open all day!”

\-----

My ice skates were gripped in my hands, I shifted nervously on the bench, giving a small smile to Historia. “I’ve never really been ice skating before, is it obvious?”   
  
She just grinned back, her face already flushed from the cold air. Ymir had gone to the bathroom, leaving just the two of us. “I love ice skating! If you need any help just ask me, it’s really easy once you get used to it.” Historia was really nice, I could see why Ymir loves her so much. Which reminds me yet again, why was someone so kind dating someone with an attitude like Ymir?

“Thanks, Historia.”

“It’s no problem, Marco.”

As I finished tying up the laces to my skates my nervousness began to ebb away. I got up and, not so gracefully, walked to the barrier that barred my way to the ice and held on fast, knowing that I was going to have to hold on to it in order to keep my balance when I start skating.

I would have started already, totally, but a hockey team was still practicing so everyone had to wait. Most of them had their backs turned to me, so I couldn’t see any of their faces. Either way, they were gliding too fast across the slick surface for me to pick out any specific features of their face.

I scooted closer to the ledge, ready to start skating as soon as they were done. Unfortunately I didn’t notice myself leaning in to get a better view until I felt the ground slip from beneath my feet and I was sent sprawling across the ice, colliding with one of the hockey players and knocking him over. “What the fu-” was all I heard before a felt a weight on top of my back.

I groaned, closing my eyes as I heard people from the sidelines start to laugh. The world was just out to get me today. The weight on top of me was lifted, but as I looked up, I was greeted with several angry faces. I flinched as I felt pressure on my already sore shoulder and I was hauled to my feet. I don’t think my face could have been a darker shade of red. “What do you think you’re doing, interrupting our practice like this?” Someone yelled close to my face, causing my ears to ring.

“I’m really sorry, sir! I didn’t mean to, honest! I just… slipped?” I grinned sheepishly, staring at the ice. “Sure you did.” The guy in front of me drawled, pushing me roughly and causing me to fall to the ground once more. He raised his hockey stick, looking as if he were about to hit me with it. I shielded myself, all the color draining from my face. I closed my eyes, awaiting the pain that was sure to come.

...But it didn’t. I opened my eyes, peeking through my hands to see that a gloved hand had gripped the raised hockey stick. The person connected to that hand was trying to calm the other down. “Hey, Reiner. Cool it, man. I’m sure he didn’t mean it.” The sturdy boy in front of me stared at me angrily, but slowly lowered the stick. I let out a deep sigh, not realizing I had been holding my breath.

“Hey there.”

I was greeted by the guy who had calmed Reiner down. He held out a hand to me, offering help. I gripped it tightly, not realizing how badly I was shaking until I failed to grab his hand several times. “T-thanks.” I muttered, still refusing to look up.

“Hey… I know you.”

“Huh?”

“You’re that guy who was singing to Ke-”

I clamped a hand over his mouth, well, mask. “J-Jean?”

“That’s me.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I play hockey.”

I almost screamed and ran away right then and there. Of course I would run into him again. Haha, that’s real funny universe. “Uh, hello?” A gloved hand waved in front of my face snapping me back to the present. “Hi.”

“I never got your name, you know.”

“Yeah I know.”

“So aren’t you gonna tell me what it is?” Jean sighed, looking thoroughly done with my stalling. “...Do I have too?”

“I just saved your ass, I think I deserve to know your name at the very least.”

I groaned inwardly, knowing he was probably right. Giving a wobbly smile, I lifted my head until I was eye-level with him. Which actually wasn’t all the way considering I was taller than him. “I’m Marco.”

“Marco? Like as in Marco Polo?”

I felt my eye twitch and I shoved my free hand into my pocket so he couldn’t see I had balled it into a fist. I hated when people called me that. “No, as in Marco Bodt.” Wait, I only had one free hand. I glanced down at my other hand, realizing it was still in Jean’s grasp. I snapped it away, blushing profusely. I swear to god this day just keeps getting better and better. I thought sourly, staring at the guy in front of me.

He had the decency to at least look a little embarrassed, but of course it was ruined by the stupid cocky grin of his.

“Marco Bodt, huh? That’s a nice name you’ve got there, freckles.” Oh my god, he did not just call me ‘Freckles’ again. I’m just going to pretend I didn’t hear that. I am a nice person who doesn’t get mad over stupid nicknames, I am a nice person who doesn’t get mad over stupid ni-

“So, do I get a thank you or no?” He grins, one of his hands lifting up his mask, the other leaning on his hockey stick.

“Thank you.” I manage a small smile, hoping it looks fairly sincere. I just want to turn around and bury my face in Ymir’s shoulder, even if that seemed pretty childish. Maybe if I ask nicely she can knock out Jean so he won’t remember anything that had happened today. She’d do something like that for her favorite cousin, right? Hell, I’m her only cousin.

Jean glanced back behind him, noticing one of his teammates waving him over. “Maybe I’ll see you around, Marco.” I pray to god that you won’t.

“Yeah,” I mumble as some sort of agreement. I try to turn around but end up stumbling on the ice again - I really need to stop being so clumsy all the time. Jean grabs my bicep to stop me from falling, and I can hear him laugh behind me. Somehow, I can’t help a small, flustered smile growing on my face. I will admit, if I saw someone floundering around on a rink of ice I would be laughing too.

Jean helps me to my feet, and in the most platonic way we can manage, he practically drags me out of the rink. “Try not to stumble, okay? I won’t be here to catch you anymore.” He teases.

I narrow my eyes at him, sticking my tongue out. “I’m sure I can get by perfectly fine without you to help me, Jean. I’ll have you know I’m a master ice skater.”

Another set of chuckles falls from his lips. “Sure you are.”

“Have fun skating, Marco.”

\---------

Historia had gripped both of my hands, leading me out to the center of the rink, slowly sliding backwards on her skates. We’d been here an hour, but mostly everyone had left. There were only a few other people here, none of whom seemed to be any better skaters than I was. “Don’t be nervous, Marco! You’re doing great, you’ve got great posture, you really look like a natural right now.”  
  
Despite I know most of her words were lies, they still helped me feel better. Seriously, how did Ymir land such a goddess? “Thank you.” I mutter, my face flushing even more than it should.

“Now, are you ready? I’m going to let go now. You can do it on your own, I believe in you.” Another grin from the small girl, I don’t even have time to protest before she pulls her hands away and starts sliding backwards again.

I flail in place, trying not to stumble and lose my balance. Carefully pushing my balance to my toes, I start to edge forward a bit. I glance up to look for Historia for some guidance. I’m really not sure if I’m doing this right at all, I’m scared to make another move. I really don’t want to fall for the fifth time today. “Hist-” I look up expecting a sweet smile, but all I’m met with is a pair of familiar amber eyes.

“Jean!” I blurt out before I fall onto my rear.

Only to embarrass myself more, I burst out into a fit of laughter. This has definitely been one of the worst days of my life, it was seeming only to get worse by the second.

He laughs too, which does help the anxiety slip from my stomach, offering a hand to help me up. “I thought I told you not to fall anymore, Jesus freckles, it’s like you don’t want listen to anything I say.”

My eye twitched again at the nickname, but I just got back on my feet. My arms flailed as I tried to find my balance again. I looked around, hoping that Historia was nearby in order to get me out of this rather awkward situation. Well, awkward for me at least.

I finally spotted her with Ymir. I raised an arm and started to wave and call out to them but my voice died in my throat when I noticed they were displaying a little  touchy public affection. Oh come on guys, I’m not homophobic but is this really the place?

Jean seemed to notice where my attention was directed and he turned his head, eyes widening slightly. He quickly turned back to me, raising an eyebrow. “Friends of yours?”

“...The freckled one is my cousin.” I groaned, slapping my hand against my forehead.

“Oh. Cool, I guess.” Jean coughed, starting to look embarrassed for once.

“Do you have a problem with them?” I pressed, growing defensive of my cousin and her girlfriend. “W-what? No! Really, there’s nothing wrong with being, uh, attracted to the same gender!”

I narrowed my eyes at him slightly, but took his word for it. “Okay.” I shook my head, realizing I was being a little blunt. Jean didn’t deserve that from me, even if he did catch me in the most embarrassing moment of my entire life. And, after all, he did save me from getting pounded into the ice with a hockey stick.

“So Jean, have you always played hockey?”

“Ever since I was a kid. I’m surprised you haven’t heard of me. I’m kind of a big deal around here.”

Wow, full of yourself much? I opened my mouth to reply but closed it again quickly, realizing he didn’t look to pleased about his words. “You don’t seem too happy about that.”

“Nah, it’s great, really. I just don’t like all the attention. After a while it just gets kind of…”

“Boring.” We said in unison, causing us to stare at each other with wide eyes.

“Er… yeah.” He muttered, casting his eyes down to the floor. I busted out laughing, unable to contain myself. Jean’s eyes snapped back up to me and, after a moment, he started laughing too. “You’re pretty cool, Marco.” I stopped laughing, feeling a large smile spread across my face as he said my name instead of referring to me as “Freckles”.

“Thanks! You are too, Jean!” I replied, feeling myself to slip. Oh right, we’re still on  the ice. I reach out for Jean’s shirt, using him to keep myself steady. I clear my throat, giving a shrug and a sheepish smile. “I, uh, still haven’t really learned how to skate yet. Sorry.”

“What happened to being an ice skating master?” Jean raised an eyebrow teasingly, I wanted to punch that smug look off of his face. Though, he stopped me before I even got the chance to move.

“Don’t worry, my dear Marco, since you asked so nicely I will teach you how to skate. You’ll be at master skater status in no time.”

“Uh, I didn’t really ask yo-”

“Let’s get started then, shall we?”

“First, you need to bend your knees a lot more. Geez, you look so fucking stiff,  ice skating is supposed to be fun so just relax…”

Relax, I can do that. Maybe I’ve been falling so much because I’m so tense. As I try to loosen my muscles, Jean just stares at me. “...What?”  
  
“Have you ever even skated before, Marco?”  
  
“Nope.”  
  
“This is going to be a hell of a long fucking day.” Sweet lord, send someone to save me before this weird two-tone haired boy kills me.

\-----

“Do you get it now, Marco?”

“Yes, Jean. I get it. I’m fine now.”

“You sure?”

“Jean.”

“Alright, alright. I’m sorry.”

I was now gliding rather gracefully across the ice, grinning from ear-to-ear as an overly-worried Jean followed suit. “You worry too much for a guy that plays it cool the majority of the time.”

“Shut up, Freckles. I’m just trying to be friendly.” He scowled at me, skidding to a stop. “Hey, I gotta go. Don’t fall, alright? I won’t be here to catch you, princess.” He teased, sliding backwards.

Princess? Excuse me, I’m just as much of a guy as you. I thought to myself, frowning slightly at the hockey player. “See ya, Freckles!”

As Jean skated away, I felt two warm presences beside me, leaning in close. “Oi, Marco. Who’s your boyfriend?” Ymir sneered into my ear, Historia giggling on the other side of me. “B-boyfriend?” I stammered, face growing crimson yet again.

“He’s not my boyfriend! He just helped me learn how to skate. I barely know the guy, not like I really want too.” I lied at the last part. Anything to get them to drop the topic. I wasn’t gay. I knew that. I’d dated plenty of girls. And by plenty I mean like three because they turned out to be the kind of people who were attention hogs so I didn’t get any time with my family or friends.

“Whatever you say, Bodt.” Ymir grinned, flicking my shoulder and skating off. “Time to go! Ice skating rink is closing up in a few minutes.”

I sighed and shook my head, skating after her and finally getting out of these horridly tight ice skates. Little did I know that as I left, Jean had watched the whole scene, a confused frown on his face.

\-----

It had been a week or two since I had seen Jean, the days were boring, though I didn’t dance in the aisles anymore. I hadn’t really thought about him much but every so often my mind would edge its way over to him. He did seem really nice, we got along well. It would be kind of nice to have a friend other than my twenty-two year old cousin. I should have gotten his phone number or something.

He probably doesn’t even like me that much, I was just the weird kid that kept falling on the ice rink last Saturday night. I’d be surprised if he even remembered my name and- why do I care about him so much? I should just forget about the whole ordeal and move on.

Well, there’s nothing I can do about it now. I sigh to myself, my feet tapping the sidewalk as I continued on my way. It was around seven in the evening, my shift at the library had just ended, some coffee would probably do me good. I had to stay up to finish an essay for class anyway. There was a small coffee shop just on the other side of town. It wasn’t too much out of my way and you know what, I deserve some coffee. I’ve had a pretty crappy couple of past few days. (Apart from the whole ‘Ke$ha’ incident, a lot of horrible things have happened to me. Things that I don’t even want to mention.)

I rub my hands together, it already getting fairly cold in the night air. I wished I had brought a heavier jacket with me instead of my hoodie. I shoved my fingers into my armpits, continuing down the pavement.

I carefully push my way into the store, a small sigh of relief coming from my mouth. It was a lot warmer in here than it was outside and I was going to prolong my stay here as long as I can.

“Marco?”  
Oh my god.

“Hi, Jean. Long time no see.” I rubbed the back of my neck, offering a smile. I didn’t realize that Jean of all people worked here. And here I thought my week couldn’t get any worse.

“Hey, Marco. What’s up?” He asks, casual as ever, though something’s off with the way he’s smiling. It’s almost like he’s mad at me. I cross that, it really seems like he’s pissed with me. Maybe I shouldn’t have come to get coffee tonight.

I shuffle closer to the counter, pretending my cheeks aren’t as red as they actually are. “I just came to get some coffee, I didn’t realize that you worked here! This is my favorite coffee place, kind of a coincidence, huh?”

“Mhmm. So, um, what can I get you?”  
“Huh? Whatever you recommend is fine.”

“Is it, Marco?”

“Huh?”

Jean glared at me, but said nothing more. He whipped around, grabbing a cup and filling it with some coffee. I frowned, not knowing how it would taste. “Hey Jean are you-” I was cut off as the cup was shoved towards me, spilling slightly and getting hot coffee all over my hands and hoodie. I hissed in pain but didn’t drop that cup, just put it down on the counter and ran to get a napkin. After wiping the counter (and myself) clean, I stared at Jean, bewildered beyond measures. “Jean, what has gotten into you?”

“Are you gonna pay or what?” Was all he said, opening the cash register. “Y-yeah.” I pulled out a few dollars, tossing them on the counter and continued trying to catch Jean’s gaze. “Jea-”

“You got your coffee, right? Now leave.”

This definitely wasn’t the Jean I knew. I guess outside the skating rink and the library I was nothing more than a nuisance to him. Sighing in defeat, I turned towards the door and made my way out into the cold once more. I’m not entirely sure whether Jean was just being Jean, or if I seriously screwed up without realizing it.

As I lifted up the cup to take a sip of the coffee, I noticed something scribbled on the side. I decided it was nothing and took a sip of the coffee anyway. And I’m not exaggerating when I say it was putrid. I spat it out, looking at the side of the cup, wondering if Jean had some sort of clever remark written there. But no, I saw something else in his handwriting.

‘Not like I really want too’ ~ Marco

\-----

I felt sick to my stomach for the rest of the week, I could barely force myself to get up and go to the library, let alone force myself to go to school. The coffee cup was sitting on my dresser, still half full. It was a reminder for that horrible thing I had said, the thing that I desperately wished I could take back. I didn’t realize it would make Jean so angry, I didn’t think he would have ever heard that conversation. I was too timid to back to the coffee shop and apologize. He’d probably just kick me out anyway.

You really fucked up, Marco. I told myself, shaking my head. I groaned, rolling out of my bed. It was a Thursday, meaning that today I would have to go work at the library. I’ll ditch school today, even though I know I really should be getting ready for the final exams. We’re just reviewing in class anyways, it’s not like I’ll really miss much. I’ll study while I’m at the library, that’s what it’s for, right? If I’m lucky, today will be a good day.

But of course with my fantastic luck, I have to pass the coffee shop on my way to the library. I walked slowly, pulling my hoodie over my head. As I walked past, I took a quick glance into the shop, noting with a small sigh that Jean wasn’t there. No, of course he wouldn’t be.

He was probably at school. I sighed, throwing my hood off my head and practically started sprinting to the library. Jean or no Jean, I didn’t want to be anywhere near that coffee shop. It brought back too many bad memories. I still can’t believe that he threw that coffee on me, I feel horrible about how angry I made him. I never should have gone ice skating with Ymir. It really didn’t help me at all.

I carefully pushed my way through the library doors, hands shoved into my pockets. It was still pretty cold out, I’m surprised I didn’t freeze on my way here.

There’s shuffling amongst one of the shelves before a head pops out from above the books. “Hey, Marco.”

It was Eren, the other intern they had here. He works a lot of the hours I don’t; he’s very strong-headed and rough but he’s surprisingly good with the books. Eren goes to my high school, but he doesn’t have any classes until later in the day, allowing him to spend his lazy mornings here.

“Hi, Eren.” I smile back at him before he disappears back behind the endless stack of novels.

“Why aren’t you in class?” He asks, shoving a handful of books into place. I shrug, making my way towards one of the tables. I’m horrible at lying, I can’t ever keep a straight face.

“Mr. Pixis said since today was a review day, we didn’t have to come for first period.” I really hope he can’t hear the waver in my voice. Why did I have to be born such an honest a nice person?

“Oh,” Eren says. It’s obvious that he knows I’m lying, but I’m in such a bad mood right now that I think he’s too scared to ask what’s wrong. Usually I’m never this upset, and to put it nicely it’s all Jean’s fault.

“Marco, is everything alr-”  
Before Eren can say anything else, the door slams open. It must be fate or something, I really don’t know, I really don’t want to know. He’s here, him out of all people, out of all the days he could show up. As soon as those amber eyes fall on me, they narrow with vexation.

Paying me no heed, he stormed over to Eren, a sneer plastered on his face. “Oi, Eren! Still reading fantasies, I see.” He drawled, eyes scanning the book in Eren’s hand. “Fuck off, Jean! I work here, I have to put all kinds of books away. Go find some porno magazines and leave.”

“You guys have porn magazines?”

“No, jesus fucking christ I was- never mind! Just leave.”

I watched the scene unfold before me, unsure if I should intervene or not. “Uh, guys-”

“Stay out of this, Marco!” Jean shouted at me, turning until he faced me. I cringed, unable to look him in the eyes.

“Hey, Jean! Don’t take it out on Marco. He’s been having a rough week.”

Jean stayed silent for a moment, staring at me. “...Yeah.” Was all he said before turning on his heels and walking out the door. I stared after him, frozen in place until I heard a loud sigh.

“By the look on your face he’s the reason, right?” I nodded in response, knowing at the moment I was unable to form a coherent sentence. “I hate horseface, but obviously this is your problem too, so maybe you should go talk to him.”

“I-I can’t.” I choked out, feeling tears beginning to form in my eyes. Why was I crying? I barely knew the guy. I think it was just because of the fact that I’ve never had anyone be mad at me before and that it looks like I had lost a potential friend. Either way, I was acting like a three year-old. “He hates me now, he won’t talk to me.”   
  
Eren sighed. “Marco, you guys aren’t going to feel any better unless you talk about it.” He rubbed the back of his neck bashfully. “Jean doesn’t really listen to people, but I have the feeling that he’ll listen to you.”  
  
“It’s not going to kill you to try,” he persuades. My stomach is still is knots but somehow I manage to choke back the tears before they slip from my eyes. Eren wasn’t wrong, the worst thing that could happen was that Jean could ignore me. I could still save what was left of our blooming friendship, right?

I offered a small, quivering smile to Eren. “Do you know where me might have gone? I should at least try to sort things out.”

He brightened a bit. “He’s probably just bumming around outside, he usually just hangs out by the door whenever he’s pissed at me.”

“Thanks, Eren.”

“No problem.”

I sat there in silence for a few more minutes, thinking over what I was going to say to Jean. Maybe he was right to be angry at me. Well, of course he was. I should never have said that in the first place.

“Go on, Marco.” Eren encouraged, reminding me Jean was probably still standing outside.

“O-oh, right.” I mumbled, shifting uncomfortably before turning around and hurrying out the double-doors of the library.

\---

The cold air hit my face, causing me to have a sharp intake of breath. Maybe I shouldn’t have run out of there so fast. Maybe I could talk Jean into coming inside to talk. No… he would just get in a fight with Eren. “Jean?” I called out quietly, confusion buzzing in my head as I didn’t catch sight of the guy with the undercut.

“What is it, Marco?” I heard a deep voice grumbling behind me as I felt sharp amber eyes glaring slightly up at me. I turned around, gulping. Although shorter than me, Jean could still be intimidating.

“I, um, I…” I fumbled, searching for the words I had recited to apologize. They had completely slipped from my mind as soon as I saw him.

Jean just stared at me, mouth twitching. Was he trying not to laugh at my flustered state? “It’s fine, Marco. I should have known someone as nice as you wouldn’t really want to be friends with Jean Kirschtein.” Oh, so that was his last name.

“N-no, that’s not it-”

“Really, it’s fine. I get it.” He interrupted me, holding up one of his hands. “Jean, I-”

“Bye, Marco.” He did it again. Let a guy speak, jeez! I began to grow frustrated as he started to walk away.

“Jean, stop and listen to me!” I shouted at him, causing him to freeze in place, but he still had his back turned to me.

“I do want to be your friend! And I’m really sorry that I said that! I just didn’t want Ymir to ruin our friendship so I said the first thing that came to my mind. The thing is, I was just so afraid of screwing up a potential friendship, I didn’t really know if I wanted to get my hopes up.” I finished, huffing defeatedly. I stared at my shoes, hands shoved in my jacket pockets.

I was so focused on my shoes, I didn’t notice Jean staring at me intensely with wide amber eyes. “Y-yeah.” Was all he said in response. Wow, all that, and that’s all he had to say? How badly did I fuck up?

I lifted my head, nearly falling backwards as I realized Jean had walked back over to me and was now leaning in a little too close for comfort. “Uh, Jean?”

“Do you mean it?”

“Huh?”

“Do you mean it? Do you really want to be my friend?”

Well that was a stupid question. I had just admitted I wanted to be his friend, and here he was, asking me the question he already knew the answer too.

“Of course I do! I wouldn’t just run out here like this if I didn’t…”

“True…” He conceded, seemingly satisfied with my answer. It was only after a moment of awkward staring I noticed the dark rims underneath Jean’s eyes. “Jean?”

“Hah?”

“Have you been getting enough sleep?” I asked tentatively, hoping it wasn’t a sensitive topic. Jean coughed, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.

“Er… yeah.”

“Jean.”

“Marco.”

“Jean, tell me.” I pouted, staring down at him. He shuffled uncomfortably, obviously trying to avoid my gaze.

“I’ve just been staying up late with hockey and stuff.”  Yeah, okay, totally believe that. I thought to myself, rolling my eyes.

“Jean, please.” I pressed, laying a hand on his shoulder reassuringly. His amber eyes widened and flicked from my hand to my face. “Fine,” He grumbled, turning to look off to the side.

“I just felt really guilty for writing that on your cup. You seemed like a nice guy, so I thought ‘hey, maybe I can actually make a real friend for once’, but then… you know. I-I was just angry at myself and worried that I might have hurt you more than intended, which is kinda obvious that that happened.” Jean explained, glaring up at me. I grinned and broke out into a fit of laughter, much to his surprise.

“H-hey, that’s not funny!”  
  
“It was funny that we were thinking the exact same thing.” My laughter dies down slightly though the grin never leaves from where it’s etched on my face. “I’m glad you’re not mad at me anymore Jean.”

He scowls, which really just wants to make me laugh more.  “Yeah, me too, Marco,” he mumbles.

“Are you planning on going back to school today?” I asked, carefully nudging my hands into my pockets.

“I don’t really want to go back.”

“Well… I planned on ditching the whole day anyway, so why don’t we just hang out? You know, get to know each other better.” I suggested, looking off to the side.

I felt my face begin to heat up quite considerably as he didn’t answer right away. “Yeah,” he finally said, “that sounds like it would be cool. We can go get some lunch or something. I dunno about you but I’m really fucking hungry.”

I perk up at his proposition. “Lunch sounds really good right now, Jean!”

\-----

I dig into the burger, letting of a small satisfied hum at the taste. Jean was right, this place did have the best hamburgers in our entire town. I grin at him from behind my food as he makes a face. In the thirty minutes we’ve been here, it’s like the whole ordeal never happened. You would never be able to tell that we were furious with each other not only an hour ago. I was right in trying to become Jean’s friend.

“These burgers are amazing,” I gush, putting extra emphasis on ‘amazing’. Jean nods his head in agreement.

“Hell yeah they are, Freckles. You think I was lying about this?” The nickname didn’t bother me as much as it used to. Maybe I was getting used to it, who knows. “I always come here whenever I get the chance because of the food. Not to mention all the awesome shit they have in here. They have a jukebox, too, somewhere around the back. I’m sure they might have some songs you’d like on there.”

I nodded eagerly, swallowing the last of my food. “Sounds awesome. Any songs you’d recommend?”

“Well, I don’t think there’s any Ke$ha on there, so that’s out.” He grinned mischievously at me, tilting his head slightly.

“H-hey! I don’t listen to just Ke$ha.” I protested, smacking his arm lightly.

“If you say so.” He snorted, pushing himself out of his seat and heading towards the back. “I’ll pick out a song.”

I wanted quietly, glancing off to the side as I saw a group of girls glancing at Jean’s vacant seat and my occupied one. I stared at them, confusion lighting my gaze as I strained to listen to their conversation. I wasn’t eavesdropping though! I was just… curious. Yeah, that’s it.

I really should have listened to the saying “curiosity killed the cat”, and just ignored them.

“...they’re totally together!”

My face burned as I turned my head away, unwilling to listen to anymore of their conversation. Unfortunately as my blush dusted over my freckles, one of the girls let out an inhuman squeal and her friends had to quiet her down. I shifted awkwardly in my seat, facing the window so I didn’t have to look at the excited expressions on the girls faces.

I heard footsteps nearing the table and I looked up to see a grinning Jean flop down in his seat. “The song’ll start in a few minutes - hey, why’s your face so red?” He told me, his smile quickly turning into a curious frown. He glanced over at the other table as the girls started giggling again.

“Oh, Marco, were you hitting on those girls while I was gone? No fair!”

“No I-”-

“Did you land a date? Did you get a number?”

“Jean, please-”

“Dude are you trying to get laid?”

“Jean, no!” I screamed, which caused him to shut up and give me that same stupid cocky grin. “No, I wasn’t flirting with those girls. They just, uh, never mind.”

“What is it, Marco?”

“N-nothing.”

“But Marcooo~” Jean whined,  throwing his head back in exasperation.

“You really don’t wanna know.” I frowned, continuing trying to drop the subject. He opened his mouth to continue arguing when a song started to blare from the jukebox, cutting him off.

“Awesome, you’ll love this song. It’s great!” The two-toned haired boy assured me, shooting up in his chair.

I perked up as the music started to play, giving a small laugh. I tried not to pay attention to the girls that were looking at us with big, intense eyes. “Really? You chose this song? ‘Her Love Is My Religion’?” I didn’t even realize that they had such modern music in jukeboxes. At any rate, this really wasn’t the type of music that I thought Jean would like. He set off a certain atmosphere, an aura that just didn’t scream ‘I’m into pop music’.

“Yeah, Freckles, do you have a problem with it?” His smile only grew wider as he popped a fry into his mouth. I’m glad I opted out of school to go hang out with Jean, not that I would ever admit it. This day had been one of the most hectic of my life but I didn’t regret a single thing.

“Not at all, horseface,” I sent back, using the nickname that Eren had oh-so affectionately used earlier.

“Hey, not cool man!” He shot back at me, smacking the back of my head forcefully.

“Ow, Jean, Jesus!”

“That’s what you get when you try to be a smart-ass.” He explained nonchalantly, leaning back in his chair. I rubbed the back of my head, sulking at the boy in front of me.

“I was not being a smart-ass. I was simply impersonating one.” I joked, which certainly got an obnoxiously loud laugh out of him. I liked his laugh, it was nice to hear. I hope I’ll get to hear him laugh like that more.

That’s not weird, right? No, friends like to make each other laugh. It’s a completely normal, heterosexual thing to do. Alright well I know that definitely sounded weird, and probably didn’t make much sense. Whatever, I was just enjoying Jean’s company right now.

\----

“So I’m apparently transferring to a new school.”

“Really, that’s so cool!” I felt a knot twist in my chest as Jean told me the news. It had been a few days since that day in the burger shop, and I was finding myself growing more and more attached to Jean’s companionship.

“Yeah. What school do you go too? I’ve never heard you mention it once.” He sighed, glancing at me curiously. Huh, I guess I haven’t. I mused, staring up at the sky as we walked down the sidewalk. Jean had insisted he’ll stick with me the whole way to the library, knowing that sometimes this street could get a little, well, violent. I told him I’d be fine, but my newfound friend refused to let me go alone. I grinned widely, basking in the fact that I could call him a friend.

Jean’s voice snapped me out of my reverie, startling me back to reality. “Oi, Freckles. What’s got you so happy?” He inquired, raising one eyebrow at me.

“O-oh, nothing. Just thinking.” Jean stared at me incredulously, but didn’t push the matter. “If you say so.” He sighed, kicking a can that happened to be on the street. I frowned, but didn’t point out his mood.

“But anyway, I go to Trost High.” I responded, rubbing my forehead.

Jean stared at me a little wide-eyed for a moment, but quickly turned his head away from my view. What? Wait, was he smiling? It wasn’t unlike Jean to smile, not at all, with his personality of course. But this smile seemed a little too… amused to be a regular innocent smile.

\---

Finally we reached the library, Jean pestering me the rest of the way of what it was like at my school. “It’s not all that great, I swear. It’s just like any other high school.”  Jean whined at my vague answers, shoving me lightly.

I shoved him back gently, taking the library keys from my pocket and unlocking the door. It was an early Saturday morning, I had the duty of opening up today. “Bye Jean!” I said, waving to him as I unlocked the door and eagerly walked into the warm building. However, I felt the chill of the air outside. Confused, I turned my head to see Jean propping the door open, staring at me. “Jean?”

“Yeah?”

“Aren’t you supposed to be at work soon?”

“Oh, uh, yeah. I’ll see you around Marco.” He mumbled, turning away quickly and hurrying back down the sidewalk. Puzzled as I was, I decided to let my mind drift from the topic as I went on with my day. Doing as I normally did, I shelved the books, dusted off the counter and shelves, and helped out anyone who was in need of assistance of finding a book.

Despite my mind being preoccupied with all these tasks, I couldn’t help my mind lingering on Jean and how he was doing. He was a great friend, that’s for sure. I had lots of friends, sure, but Jean was different. He seemed like he genuinely wanted to spend most of his free time with me and needed someone to rely on. If I was perfectly honest, I was glad I could be that one person he trusted most, even if he didn’t come right out and say it. Yeah yeah, I know. ‘You barely know the guy!’. But who cares? In these past few days we’d become fairly good friends, and I was determined that I wasn’t going to lose this friendship so easily. Not in a million years.

\-----

I sighed, I hadn’t gotten to see Jean for the rest of the weekend. We had both been too busy to actually hang out. A small ping of doubt lingered in the back of my mind, causing me to frown slightly as I leaned on my locker. Maybe he just didn’t want to hang out? Is that why he constantly said he was busy? Am I being too clingy? Too annoying? All these questions and more were rushing through my head until a familiar voice stopped them.

“Hey Marco, buddy, are you okay?” It was Eren, accompanied by Armin and Mikasa. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just stressed out for the test in French class this week.” At my response, everyone held a puzzled expression. Out of all of us - besides Armin who practically excelled at everything - I did the best in French. I always got good grades on my tests. Eren glanced at his two companions but they just shrugged and gave him a look that told him to leave it.

“Oh, yeah. I should probably study for that later.” He said, coughing awkwardly. However, he quickly brightened when he saw two of our teachers, Mr.Ackerman and Mr.Smith, spoke briefly to each other and swapping papers. “Huh?” I didn’t know why Eren and Armin looked so excited. Mikasa though, she was just glaring at Mr.Ackerman. Everyone knew they had the same last name, but they never really got along for some reason and never really seemed to consider one another as family.

“Didn’t ya hear? We get a new student today!” Eren told me excitedly, eyes wide and shining. I stared at him. What is this, the 3rd grade? We don’t usually get excited over new students. “Who is it?”

“I don’t know his name.” Eren shrugged in reply to my question, glancing at Armin. So it’s a guy. That’s a start. “Oh, is he showing up today?” I asked, my curiousity only growing. “Yeah, I wonder if he’s cool or a total ass-hat.” Eren muttered, mostly to himself. Ass-hat? I blinked at Armin and Mikasa, looking for an explanation but all I got in return were two shrugs. I’d only heard that term used once and it was from Mr.Ackerman. I mean, I knew Eren really admires that guy, but come on. I sighed inwardly, shaking my head every so slightly. “Well, we should probably head to class.”

\-----

I tapped my pencil on my forehead, eyebrows furrowing as I focused on the question. I was never really one for science. I heard the door open but I ignored it, knowing students come late into this class all the time. “Welcome, welcome!” I heard my science teacher’s, Hanji Zoe, voice. She was always so upbeat without a care in the world. I kind of feel bad for her assistant, Moblit. He was always coaxing her out of doing dangerous science experiments with us. Poor guy.

“You must be the new kid! I’m Hanji Zoe, but you can just call me Hanji.” She introduced herself excitedly. The new kid, huh? This certainly caught my attention. I lifted my eyes up quickly, gaze locking in the sight in front of me. “What’s your name?” She asked him, but my mouth was already flying open.

“ _Jean_?”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! Thanks for reading! This is fanfic is one my friend Brooke and I have had in our heads for awhile so we decided to throw it together. Now working on the next chapter for Marco and the first chapter of Jean's point of view!


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